1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to portable selective data capture and selective control devices providing an interface between a user and a controlled device and, more particularly, to arrangements for providing data or control input to devices such as a data processor, musical instrument, communication device or the like while allowing freedom of movement and minimal interference with other activities for a user.
2. Background Description
Most mechanical and electrical devices capable of multiple functions require and provide for user control for selection between those functions and initiation and termination of the function selected. In general, multiple buttons in the nature of a keypad or keyboard of arbitrary extent has been the arrangement of choice for communicating user selection and/or control to the device. In recent years, other arrangements such as pointing devices and voice-responsive systems have come into relatively widespread use. Further, some systems have provided for control and/or selection to be provided by collected data such as physiological information concerning the user. For example, eye movement or nervous system activity (e.g. EEG, EKG, blood pressure, electroneural muscle activity and the like) can be monitored to develop signals which can be used in the same manner as key strokes for selection or control. However, alternative input arrangements have generally been implemented as stand-alone systems which are useable alone or as a supplement to keyboards in a mutually exclusive fashion.
However, keyboards are not generally well-adapted for long periods of operation by a human user and alternative arrangements such as those alluded to above generally involve some degree of inconvenience, slow response, substantial user training and accommodation and/or significant data processing resources. So-called ergonomic design features provide only marginal improvements in accommodating human use. Moreover, while some portable or wearable devices are known, they are generally dedicated to a single type of input to a single apparatus, such as the separate keyboard and mouse or other pointing arrangement of a personal computer. For example, an arrangement is known in which a rolling member such as is used in a mouse is mounted on the underside of a keyboard and pointing controlled by sliding the entire keyboard along a surface, compromising convenience of both pointing and data entry functions.
A notable exception is disclosed in the above-incorporated U. S. Pat. No. 6,097,374 granted to the inventor of the present invention. As disclosed therein, a small and lightweight housing is preferably worn on the wrist and includes a plurality of directional light-emitting devices. The housing supports a substantially linear array of directional light receptors extending generally parallel to the direction of light emission and receives light substantially orthogonal thereto; thus providing a matrix of locations which can be monitored and distinguished from each other when a finger or other appendage is moved to any location in the matrix defined by the directional light emitters and receptors.
This arrangement also includes motion sensors in at least two directions for controlling a pointing device in response to hand motion (e.g. orientation, velocity and the like) for controlling a pointing arrangement or providing other input parameters such as volume or tempo to a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) and, if desired, a microphone and associated circuitry for receiving voice or other audible signal input. All information developed by these arrangements is communicated to another device or base station such as a personal computer or musical instrument by a modulated light or radio wave communication link much in the nature of a remote control arrangement for a television or other appliance.
However, even this related device, like other existing devices, is inherently limited in its capabilities. For example, the use of motion sensors such as accelerometers or gyroscopes to track hand motion in a pointing application requires broad, exaggerated hand motions in order to control the cursor. Consequently, the hand must be supported by the arm to facilitate the range of motion required for the pointing application. This can become extremely uncomfortable and tiring to the user. Furthermore, it does not provide the fine sense of cursor control that one would attain by using a conventional computer mouse. Additionally, existing devices are generally limited to character-level data entry, and this data entry is extremely sensitive to hand orientation. This further restricts the usefulness of existing devices.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide enhancements for the invention disclosed and claimed in the above-incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,379 in structure, information capture, function, and adaptability to a greatly increased variety of applications.
It is another object of the invention to provide the function of the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,379 and additional functions with increased accommodation of other activities of a user.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wireless control device that will allow the user to comfortably and precisely control a pointing application.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a wireless control device capable of detecting and interpreting gestures performed by the user.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a wireless control device capable of receiving input independent of the position of the user or of a part of the user""s body.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an input device capable of intrinsically sterile and safe operation.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an input device capable of detecting additional degrees of freedom and corresponding additional types of input information.
In order to accomplish these and other objects of the invention, there is provided a small, lightweight housing worn by an operator and a controlled device, for example a personal computer. Several optical emitters, preferably light emitting diodes operating in the infrared range, and several optical detectors are provided on the housing. The emitters and detectors can be provided in a single plane for go/no-go operation of the device. Alternatively, the emitters and detectors can be disposed in two planes on the housing so that the device can resolve hand position and orientation instead of only key closures and motion or orientation of the device. At least one x-axis emitter-detector pair operates to detect an x-direction of a pointing motion or gesture, and at least one y-axis emitter-detector pair operates to detect a y-direction of a pointing motion or gesture. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing is worn on the operator""s wrist and the emitter-detector pairs detect the angle of the operator""s hand at the wrist. This motion can then be used to cause a response in the controlled device. For example, the pointing motion or gesture can correspond to the movement of a cursor on a computer display as if the operator were using a conventional computer mouse. This optical pointing embodiment can operate in either a joystick-like fashion or a mouse-like pointing stroke fashion. The housing may also optionally include a motion detector, such as an accelerometer or gyroscope, an environmental condition sensor, or a voice recognition sensor.
The present invention can also be used for gesture recognition, for example by combining time domain analysis of hand positions and orientations with image recognition capabilities. Hand motions can be resolved into a series of hand images over time, which can then be correlated with a pre-programmed library of gestures, such as gestures stored as images in a content-addressable memory functioning as a lookup table. Gesture recognition allows the present invention to be used not only for character-level data entry, but also for word- and phrase-level data entry. Furthermore, the gesture recognition can be made context sensitive so that the same gesture performed in different contexts leads to a different response by the same controlled device, or even to a response in an entirely different controlled device. Gesture recognition capabilities can also be used to implement a demand mode whereby the device can be switched on and off as the user desires.
It is also contemplated to employ the present invention to scan images in two or three dimensions. This overscanning feature can be used to cause the device to learn and adapt to the particular physiological geometries of the user rather than requiring the user to adapt to the device""s physical characteristics. It can also be used to scan objects of interest other than parts of the user""s body for real-time or archival use.
Since the device allows data entry and cursor control without any contact with a physical device, the present invention is well suited to use in sterile environments. Furthermore, the absence of mechanical interaction eliminates the possibility of sparking and makes the present invention suitable for use in combustible environments. Additionally, the device avoids the development of certain medical conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive stress injuries, and can be adapted for use by those with various physical handicaps.